MÖTLEY CRÜE's TOMMY LEE: 'The Older I Get, The More I Don't Care About What People Think'

MÖTLEY CRÜE drummer Tommy Lee recently spoke to upstart video channel Louder Noise TV about his passion for dance music. The 52-year-old musician, whose current artistic endeavors include touring as an electronic dance music DJ with his METHODS OF MAYHEM DJ/production partner DJ Aero, said: "I get a lot of feedback online. I do read some of it, you know, where a lot of people like it, and then there's other people that are, like, 'What the fuck is this?' You're never gonna win everybody's ears or heart, but the response I've gotten so far with several of these projects has been awesome, for the most part. But, you know, you always have those people online who are just quick to go, like, 'What is this? This isn't MÖTLEY CRÜE.' Well, of course it's fucking not. It's not supposed to be. Am I not allowed to do anything else other than that? So it's a weird internal juggle fest for me."

According to Lee, he is not very concerned about the criticism that has been levelled against him by people on the Internet who can't appreciate the fact that he wants to branch out and explore other styles of music.

"I think the older I get, the more I don't care about what people think or what people say," he said. "I just… I do what moves me. And the track [I did] with [Australian bass music DJ/producer] Nick Thayer, 'Fly Shit', and this other track I wrote for Violet Chachki — she just won the 'RuPaul's Drag Race' — were, really… both of them, really fun projects. And I'll go do that and then I'll play drums with Billy Corgan on the new SMASHING PUMPKINS record, or Courtney Love's record. I'm literally all over the place, and I like it like that. It's never boring. Never boring."

Lee also talked about the similarities between dance music and metal and the differences in the way his dance-related projects have been received by the two communities.

"Maybe dance kids are more open to things, and sometimes rock people are really, like… They're still wearing denim and leather, and it's rock or nothing," he explained. "I mean, if you listen… If you really break down [American electronic music producer, DJ, singer and songwriter] Skrillex, for instance, if you break that down, that is electronic metal. At least his first… his debut record. It's full-on… That is fucking metal music that's been programmed to death, but replaced the guitars with serious amounts of fucking bass and synthesizers and… you know… That is what it is. He comes from a rock background, but somehow nobody sees that. Musicians do, I do… I'm watching you."

MÖTLEY CRÜE's "The Final Tour", which kicked off last year, will end New Year's Eve at the Staples Center in Los Angeles after one more round of North American gigs.

While announcing the first details of "The Final Tour" at a Los Angeles press conference in January 2014, the four members of MÖTLEY CRÜE revealed that they took the unusual step of having their lawyer draw up a formal "cessation of touring" agreement that goes into effect at the end of 2015 and prohibits the members of the group from going on the road again under the MÖTLEY CRÜE banner.